More on this maze cartoon's topic in the news

Turkish-Iran Relations: Old Rivals or New Best Friends?

Many in the West are increasingly concerned about a Turkish-Iranian alliance against the US and Israel. However the two countries, despite their increasingly closer political and economic ties, compete over the leading position in the Middle East and for the favor of the Arab masses. For the moment the competition is materializing in pro-Palestinian endeavors like the so called "freedom flotillas" and fiery speeches against Israel by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

On June 29, 2010, Ankara, in a first sign of frustration, called on Iran to return "as soon as possible" to the negotiating table over a nuclear fuel swap deal. According to a senior Turkish diplomat, Turkey voted against tougher UN sanctions under the condition that Iran would engage itself in talks on its controversial nuclear program. However, on June 28, 2010 Ahmadinejad announced that any negotiations will be postponed until late August in order to "punish" Western powers. Tehran left it unclear when and if it will continue to talk with Brazil and Turkey, its two allies.

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Earnings reports could spark summertime market rally

TORONTO — Investors could find a reason to extend last week's strong advance on North American stock markets if U.S. second-quarter corporate earnings, the first of which are expected Monday, live up to high expectations.

"If we can get some confirmation from the earnings and then the stocks rally on that, it will be a very good sign that we'll have a decent summer," said Blair Falconer, portfolio manager at HSBC Securities.

North American markets finished higher last week, with the TSX up 3.34 per cent and the Dow industrials ahead 5.28 per cent as bargain hunters moved in following big slides of over four per cent the previous week.

Projected profits rise as stocks fall

NEW YORK — Analysts are raising earnings estimates for U. S. companies at the fastest rate since at least 2004 during a quarter when stocks have posted some of their biggest losses in 16 months on concern that the economy will sink back into a recession.

Profit for companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index now are expected to jump 34 percent this year, according to more than 8,000 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. On March 29, the projected increase had been 27 percent. The revision is the greatest during any quarter in at least six years.

But lower-than-forecast home sales, manufacturing and private-sector job growth have sent the benchmark gauge for U. S. equities down 11 percent since hitting 1,217 April 23, despite last week’s rally.

Qassam hits building in southern community

A Qassam rocket landed near a building in one of the communities in the Sdot Negev Regional Council early Wednesday, causing damage to a packing-house. There were no reports of injuries.

Avi Aptelboim, head of the community's emergency squad, reported that "a Color Red siren was sounded at around 4 am, followed by a rocket which landed inside the community, near the packing-house. The packing-house sustained heavy damage and it won't be operated today. There were no injuries, thank God."

"The rocket landed right next to the packing-house.The equipment near the packing-house was damaged, and the building itself sustained damage from shrapnel," said one of the residents.

Maze cartoon of warmongers and peace mongers in the middle east. The peacemongers are all locals, voters, and people who actually live in the middle east. The warmongers are the press, newspapers and media. Created by Yonatan FrimerClick here for the maze solution of peace and warmongers

Maze Cartoon of the Afghanistan handoff between Petraeus and McCrystal. Cartoon maze sports analogy of an NFL football handoff between Petraeus and McCrystal as generals for the war in Afghanistan. Created by Yonatan FrimerClick here for the maze solution to Afghanistan handoff